


We're Not Like That, But We Could Be

by kenzz_95



Series: Trektober 2020 [8]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Only One Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:34:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26859061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kenzz_95/pseuds/kenzz_95
Summary: Jim and Bones are taking shore leave together in a little cabin in a mountain range on a beautiful alien planet. There are two bedrooms, because of course they are they're not like that despite what Jim wants, but it quickly becomes clear that Jim's bed is unusable. Between hikes and shared smiles and warm embraces, Jim begins to realize he's not the only one who may want more than the friendship they share.
Relationships: James T. Kirk/Leonard "Bones" McCoy
Series: Trektober 2020 [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948633
Comments: 8
Kudos: 81
Collections: Trektober 2020





	We're Not Like That, But We Could Be

**Author's Note:**

> Trektober Day 8: Only One Bed
> 
> Content warning: Jim has a panic attack, so if that's something that could bother you tread carefully.

Uhura and Sulu were already in the turbolift when Jim got on, duffle bag slung over his shoulder. 

“Where’re you two off to this week?” he asked, propping a foot up against the turbolift wall. They were about to start their first real shore leave in a while. Too long. They had had a day or two here and there, but this time they were at a great M class planet set up for just this sort of thing, although not to the same extent as somewhere like Risa. Jim himself was taking the whole week off and, despite loving his job and the Enterprise more than anything, was looking forward to the break.

“Ben and Demora caught a shuttle out here, we’re gonna spend the week on some beach somewhere. Demora loves the ocean,” Sulu said, smiling already talking about his daughter.

“Christine and I are going to have a girls’ week,” Uhura replied, “We’re planning on staying in the capital, maybe doing some shopping and sightseeing, nothing major. What are your plans?”

“Oh yeah, Bones and I got some cabin in the mountains for the week. It’s supposed to be really nice up there,” Jim answered easily, not understanding the looks of confusion on his friends’ faces when he said that.

“Who’s idea was that?” Uhura asked, her tone even. Jim couldn’t figure out what was wrong with what he said.

“I dunno, Bones requested we do something that doesn’t end up with me nearly getting myself killed but I found the place so I guess it was a group effort, why?”

“Nothing, that just sounds more romantic than the week I have planned with my husband is all,” Sulu said, the glint in his eye making it obvious that he found this funnier than he was willing to let on.

“That’s not…” Jim stuttered, “We’re not...It’s not like that at all.”

“You used to be marginally smoother than that,” Uhura laughed as the turbolift doors blessedly opened. Jim didn’t say anything more to that, because Bones was waiting for him down the hall at the transporter room and Jim didn’t want him involved in this discussion. Was it actually weird, what they were doing? Was spending a week in an isolated cabin in the mountains with your best friend not really something best friends did? Jim didn’t know, Bones was pretty much his first and only in that category. But surely if Jim had crossed a boundary, Bones would’ve pointed it out, and by all accounts the other man was looking forward to the trip just as much as Jim was. It was fine, they were fine, his friends were just giving him a hard time. He had not tipped his hand, Bones was hardly shy and definitely would have said something if he had thought this trip to be a little too couple-sy. It was fine, and Jim was not going to overthink this and was just going to try to enjoy his time off. 

The thing was, being with Bones made everything easier. It always did. The fact was that Jim was impressed with himself for managing to not admit his feelings to Bones already because he never had to try with Bones, he didn’t have to think, so he was surprised it hadn’t slipped out yet. But all concerns over the appropriateness of their trip vanished in the face of Bones bitching about the transporter and the easy conversation they fell into as they settled into the little cabin they had rented for the week.

It was a nice place, really, just what Jim had been expecting. It was nestled in a little meadow in the largest mountain range on this planet, all wildflowers and big sky and reportedly phenomenal hiking that Jim had every intention of exploring throughout the week. As it was, they arrived at the cabin in the late afternoon, too late to do any proper hiking. But Jim was itching to get out into the fresh air and sunshine and so was Bones so they shed their uniforms in favor of something a bit more casual and just wandered around the general area for a couple hours, talking and enjoying the fact that they didn’t have to worry about shipwide emergencies interrupting them. 

Bones had always enjoyed cooking, so upon their return to the little cabin he replicated some ingredients and made them some dinner and Jim cleaned up because that just felt right. After dinner came holo films and card games and the whiskey Bones had brought, and everything was going great until they finally decided it was time for bed. The cabin had two bedrooms, because even though Sulu and Uhura had accused them of going on a couples’ trip, they very much so weren’t. They hadn’t explored the whole cabin yet, but Bones had immediately laid claim on the master bedroom, which was apparently only fair since Jim’s shipboard quarters were larger. It wasn’t like Jim planned on doing anything other than sleeping in the bedroom anyways, so he didn’t mind. At least not until he finally pulled open the door to the second bedroom and flipped on the lights. 

“Uh, Bones, can you come here,” Jim called back down the hallway, all while frozen in place, staring at the bed. Bones grumbled something under his breath but nonetheless appeared next to Jim, shirtless and with a toothbrush sticking out of the corner of his mouth. Jim probably would’ve appreciated the sight more if there weren't something else thoroughly capturing his attention.

“Is that…” Bones asked through a mouthful of toothbrush.

“Uh huh,” Jim nodded, because there sitting in the middle of what was supposed to be his bed was...some sort of nest. An animal that looked like the cross between a racoon, a possum, and a deer, had dug itself into Jim’s bed and given birth to three similar little animals, all of which were staring at Jim. In fact, he swore the mother was making eye contact with him.

“What’s the likelihood of that thing fucking me up if I try to remove it?” Jim asked. It didn’t look particularly big or menacing, but looks could be deceiving. And, well, Jim had experienced rather unfortunate encounters with benign wildlife like raccoons and geese all the time back in Iowa, so he knew better than to underestimate the...whatever this was that was using his bed as a birthing suite.

“Given the babies? 100%” Bones had taken the toothbrush out of his mouth, and was now standing with his hands on his hips. Jim chanced a look and, yeah, yeah he stood by his long running verdict that it was simultaneously a very good thing and a very bad thing that Bones didn’t make a habit of losing his shirt. “You may recall,” Bones continued, thankfully not noticing Jim’s staring, “That I requested a shore leave in which you did not fuck up your shit. Besides, what good does getting rid of these things do? Your mattress is covered in weird alien mammal birthing fluids at this point.”

“And there’s the giant hole in the middle,” Jim pointed out.

“Yeah, that too.”

“So what exactly are you suggesting, that we just leave them there?”

“Sure, why not? They don’t appear particularly aggressive and we didn’t notice them ‘till now. I say we just close this room off, leave a note to the owner, and you can crash with me this week.”

Jim’s stomach twisted. He was not sharing a bed with Bones all week. He was not. No way. There was only one way that would go, and it wasn’t a road that he wanted to go down. Jim shook his head, taking a step back and closing the door in front of him.

“I’ll take the couch.”

“Why?” Bones asked, a challenge in his voice, “I don’t mind. Don’t tell me you’ve suddenly gone and developed personal space issues.”

Jim had to tread carefully here, because his real reason was “I can’t share a bed with you because I’m afraid that if I do then I’ll end up kissing you or holding you or telling you I love you or even just waking up to my hard on pressed against your ass.” Grateful for his ability to think quickly on his feet, Jim rolled his eyes,

“Please, Bones, I’m not gonna take your bed, what kinda shitty best friend would be if I did that?”

“It ain’t mine anymore than it’s yours. At this point, it’s _our_ bed since it’s the only one here that’s actually fit for sleeping. If you really wanna sleep on the couch fine but don’t expect me to give you a hypo when your back is sore tomorrow morning.”

“My back is fine! Not all of us are old men like you, Bones.”

“Yeah, sure, but 29 ain’t 25 as I’m sure you’ve realized with the hangovers you’ve been getting lately. But sleep where you want, kid, I know better than to try to make you do anything.”

“You try to get me to do things all the time,” Jim pointed out, seeing nothing but flaws in that logic.

“I’ve decided to stop wasting my breath, since you generally do whatever the hell you want anyways.”  
“When’d you decide that?”

“5 minutes ago.”

“Cool. I look forward to you completely abandoning that come morning. I’m sleeping on the couch,” Jim insisted and Bones rolled his stupid-gorgeous hazel eyes,

“Suit yourself.”

Jim’s back did not hurt, and he resented Bones’ assumption that it would. However, he awoke around 03:00 with just about the most painful crick in his neck he’d ever had. Which was bullshit, in his opinion, because he slept on the ground for away missions _all the time_ but apparently he couldn’t sleep on a couch. He considered waiting it out, in fact he tried because he was not giving up so easily, but it hurt too much to get back to sleep and he did actually want to enjoy his trip so he finally sighed, grabbed his blanket and pillow, and padded into Bones’ room in the dark.

Bones was sleeping on only one side of the bed, despite the fact that Jim knew he typically slept right in the middle in his own quarters. Almost as though he suspected this may happen. Trying not to wake him, and still half hopeful he could sneak out before Bones woke up and saw him there because Jim _hated_ being wrong on stupid shit like this, Jim slowly sat down on the right side of the bed. Bones - shirtless Bones, and God Jim was fucked - rolled over, half opened his eyes, and mumbled,

“Told ya.”

“My back is fine,” Jim whispered, lying down next to his friend, but not trying to wake him up further.

“What, you just wanted the company then?” Bones asked, and Jim sure as hell wasn’t owning up to that so he figured he’d deflect with the truth.

“There’s a crick in the crick in my neck,” he admitted, rubbing it lazily, “Which is bullshit ‘cause I sleep on the ground for away missions all the time.”

“You need anything for it?” Bones asked, forgetting his earlier very empty threat to not fix any problems Jim acquired from sleeping on the couch. Jim had known it was an empty threat anyways, it pretty much always was when it came to Bones.

“Nah, I’ll be okay. Sorry for waking you.”

“I don’t mind. Here, turn over on your stomach.”

Jim did so, not even bothering to ask why. It didn’t matter, really. He trusted Bones with his life. Even when Bones dug his fingers deep into the muscle of Jim’s neck, hitting the cramped spot in a way that made Jim hiss,

“Shit, Bones, warn a guy.”

“You’re okay, darlin’,” Bones assured him, the pet name obviously slipping out by accident if the half second freeze in Bones’ fingers was anything to go off of. As for Jim, well, Bones had never called him that before, but he found he liked it very much. He tried not to react too strongly to what had obviously just been a slip up borne from the fact that Bones was at least 25% still asleep.

Bones continued digging his fingers into the cramped muscle in Jim’s neck in a way that was actually starting to feel really damn good.

“You been moonlighting as a massage therapist in your spare time?” Jim asked, biting back a moan as Bones rolled two gentle fingers over the loosening knot in Jim’s neck. Bones scoffed,

“Please, what spare time? It just ain’t that hard when you know where all the muscles are better than the back of your own hand.”

“Damn,” Jim sighed, tilting his head to press up against Bones’ fingertips, “You’re good at this.”

He could just _hear_ Bones roll his eyes as he patted Jim three times on the back of the neck and asked,

“‘K, kid, you feelin’ better?”

Jim sort of wanted to say no so Bones wouldn’t stop, but then again Bones could probably feel that the knot in his neck was gone so he rolled to his side and nodded, probably barely visible in the low light of the room.

“Good,” Bones remarked, “Now get to sleep. If you really think we’re hiking 20 kilometers tomorrow, then you damn well better be rested.”

Bones laid back down on his own pillow and Jim caught his shoulder,

“Bones? Thanks.”

“It’s my job,” Bones mumbled into his pillow and he didn’t know why but Jim knew Bones wasn’t just talking about being his doctor.

Jim was out of bed before Bones woke up, therefore eliminating any potential awkward situations about the state they woke up in. Jim took a cold shower because he had needed one and then made some coffee because he knew Bones would need some, and was already dressed and munching on an apple while sitting on the counter before Bones dragged himself into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee without a word. Knowing better than to rush his friend, because Bones was not a morning person and that was a well known fact at this point, Jim waited patiently while Bones sipped his coffee. Finally, Bones gave an approximation of a smile that, this time of morning with the sun just rising, was more like a grimace, and nodded,

“Thanks for the coffee. Your neck doing okay.”

“Yeah, you have magic fingers, man,” Jim teased, looking to get a rise out of his friend but was surprised when instead Bones looked him dead in the eye and smirked,

“So I’ve been told.”

Jim just about choked on his coffee. Bones playing into his euphemisms was _not_ the usual reaction, and even though it had just been a joke now Jim had that mental picture in his head.

“No fair,” Jim finally complained when he was sure he wasn’t about to say something that would have taken this conversation from playful and teasing to inappropriate and outside the bounds of their friendship.

“Don’t give it if you can’t take it.” Bones was grinning, relaxed and loose despite the hour and the amount of coffee still in his cup. Jim was obsessed with it. He had always loved Bones’ smile, something that was seen with increasing frequency as of late, but there was something about Bones’ posture and the look in his eyes that told Jim that this Bones was all his. He liked the idea of that a lot.

“I assure you, Bones, I’ve never been accused of not being able to take it,” Jim winked, exaggerated and silly, and Bones snorted into his cup,

“I’m sure you haven’t.”

Jim was, admittedly, exhausted. 20 kilometers, no big deal, he had thought. There had been, however, several factors that he did not account for. One was that running on a treadmill in the Enterprise gym, even on an incline, was not an exact match for actual mountain conditions. This had been steeper than Jim had been planning for. And the atmosphere, already containing slightly less oxygen than the earth-type blend they used on the Enterprise, thinned out this high up. Plus the gravity on this planet was slightly higher than earth-average, and despite the elevation it was actually pretty damn hot. All combined, it led to a very difficult hike that made Jim feel more like he was in a survival course back at the Academy than taking a hike with his best friend. They both made it to their destination - a beautiful overlook that Jim declared to be worth it, a point that Bones had argued - and made it back without incident, but they spent most of the last half of the hike walking in silence. They were both just too damn tired.

Jim had shed his shirt a few hours after sunrise, but Bones had kept his on, as apparently he hadn’t applied any sunblock to his torso. It was still, Jim decided, a very nice view. Bones was just wearing an old t-shirt from medical school, but the damp fabric clung to his back and chest in a way that made Jim’s throat dry. It was kind of crazy, actually, that Bones had no idea. Not just that Jim thought he was stupid fucking good looking, but that he was stupid fucking good looking at all. Bones described himself, when pressed, as “just kinda an average guy” and it wasn’t a self esteem thing or a humility thing he just weirdly seemed to have no idea what he actually looked like. No, that wasn’t it, it was more that Bones just didn’t really care enough about what he looked like to compare himself to other men. And sure, Jim was biased, but there were some things that were just _true_ , and Bones being objectively good looking was one of them. It was sort of nice, in a way, because hot people that knew they were hot could sometimes be dicks about it - Jim knew this very well because he was really trying to stop being said hot guy who knows he’s hot and is a dick about it himself - but Bones wasn’t. Not even a little bit. Which made him even hotter and _God_ Jim was in deep and if he had any breath left in his lungs as they walked back to their cabin, starving and sweaty and ready to collapse, he probably would’ve said something. He was glad he didn’t.

Jim collapsed onto the couch the moment he walked into their thankfully climate controlled cabin but Bones, always the caretaker, took the time to fill up their long empty water bottles before heaving out a sigh and collapsing on the couch himself. 

“Drink,” Bones demanded, pressing the water bottle into Jim’s waiting hand. Jim did, not about to argue that request as he let the ice cold water fall into his mouth. He drank half the bottle in one go before leaning back onto the couch and saying,

“Ya know, I think legally you should have to tell me when you put one of those electrolyte packs in my water before I drink it. They taste like shit.”

“It’s one of the raspberry ones, I thought you liked that flavor.”

“I said I _don’t mind_ that flavor. There’s a difference.”

“I could always just give you a hypo instead,” Bones offered in a voice that made it sound more like a threat. It was, really, with Bones’ heavy hand and Jim’s hatred of hypos, so Jim raised his hands in surrender then took another swallow of his water that tasted like it had been in the same sector as a raspberry once. But it was cool and refreshing, even if it was a bit off, so Jim drank without further complaint.

Bones refilled their water, sparing the electrolyte solution this time, before collapsing on the couch again. The pair made eye contact, a warm and heavy sort of thing, and Jim’s heart skipped a beat or three. Jim shifted on the couch, laying his head on Bones’ lap, a gesture that was rare but not unprecedented for them. It was a bit of a whim, but Jim usually followed those, and they usually worked out well enough.

“How you doing, kid?” Bones asked, reaching down and pulling a hand through Jim’s sweat soaked hair.

“Tired,” Jim yawned for effect.

“Bit off a bit more than we could chew today,” Bones agreed, lightly scratching Jim’s scalp and then pulling gently at the roots of his hair. Jim didn’t even attempt to suppress his shiver, and Bones breathed out a laugh but repeated the motion all the same.

“I think we chewed it just fine,” Jim argued, lazily tracing shapes into Bones’ lower thigh, “Tomorrow, though, nothing that long.”

“Or that damn steep. That would’ve been a difficult hike back on earth, let alone here. You fine if we just replicate dinner? I don’t feel like cooking.”

“Whatever you want,” Jim agreed, briefly shocked by how domestic this all felt right now. Maybe Sulu and Uhura had had a point, because things weren’t like that between him and Bones, but as Jim laid on Bones’ lap while the other man ran his fingers through Jim’s hair and they lazily discussed dinner plans all while being far too lazy to take the showers they both desperately needed, it felt like maybe in a lot of the important ways they sort of _were_ like that. And Jim had no idea what to do with this information.

Jim collapsed into Bones’ bed that evening in that sort of heavy, boneless way that tended to accompany deep physical exhaustion. But his mind was still active and awake, fixated on Bones wandering around the cabin in just his boxers performing an assortment of seemingly random tasks but not actually explaining what he was doing enough for Jim to help. He was a damn sight, though, and the easy motion of his muscles was downright mesmerizing. Jim hadn’t stopped to look at what Bones had been wearing before crawling into his bed last night, but the idea that the two of them were going to sleep together as they both wore so little clothing was enough to make Jim feel warm deep in his belly and maybe a little lower too. He swallowed it down, though, because even though just the thought of there only being two thin pieces of fabric separating Bones’ dick from his own was nearly enough to make him hard, that close proximity was a great reason why he couldn’t and shouldn’t be going down those mental roads right now. There was no conceivable way Bones wouldn’t notice, and Jim just didn’t need that.

It was a bit bittersweet when Bones finally got under the covers with Jim. As much as he would miss the view, it was better for him not to just get fixated on his best friend in his underwear. Bones laid down on his left side, facing away from Jim, and Jim tried not to let himself be disappointed. They were two friends sharing a bed, it didn’t have to _mean_ anything and they certainly didn’t have to do anything. Jim really wanted Bones to hold him, or to be able to hold Bones, and it wouldn’t have been a first for them. They had spooned before, though typically only when drunk. He supposed he could always do it, could wrap his body around Bones’ from behind and fall asleep with the warm and familiar body of his best friend in his arms. Bones would probably allow it too. But Jim resisted the urge to touch and hold, and instead flipped over, bid Bones goodnight, and had the computer shut the lights off.

It was still dark when Jim woke up abruptly from a dream he barely remembered, sitting up in bed and gasping for breaths that wouldn’t come right. Shit, shit, shit, this hadn’t even been on the list of reasons why he’d been hesitant to share a bed with Bones, but it should’ve been. He squeezed his eyes shut, placed a hand on his chest, and tried to focus on his breathing like he had always been told by that Starfleet shrink they’d made him see after Kahn. But it was really hard in the throes of it, and even though he knew he was okay, he was in a cabin with Bones and he was safe and so was the Enterprise, his body didn’t want to accept that. His muscles were tense, ready to jump and run if only he could find the breath or strength to do anything.

“Jim.” There was suddenly Bones’ voice, steady and sure, and then Bones was wrapping his arms around his shoulders. “Jim, it’s okay. You’re safe, you’re here with me, do you think you can focus on your breathing for me?”

Dammit, Jim was _trying_. But in these moments just breathing felt like the most difficult thing he’d ever done and even though he knew he was going to be fine, he also couldn’t help but feel like breathing like he knew he was supposed to was going to make him pass out. Eyes still closed, he felt Bones draw away slightly, but he wrapped his hand tightly around Jim’s as Jim heard the whirl of a medical tricorder then finally Bones spoke again, still holding Jim’s hand.

“Listen, Jim, I know you feel like you can’t breathe right now, but trust me when I say that you’re going to be okay. I know you know how this goes: in through your nose, hold, out through your mouth, hold. Can you give that a try? I know it’ll feel like you’re suffocating, but I promise your oxygen saturation is fine.”

Keeping his eyes closed, Jim reached for Bones with his other hand, grabbing tightly to what he was pretty sure was his thigh. Bones being there was grounding, Bones’ voice was grounding, it was all making it a little bit easier to breathe in the way that he knew would help get him out of this.

“Keep talking,” Jim finally gasped out when he was pretty sure he had enough air to speak. Bones, best damn friend and amazing fucking human being that he was, did so without question.

“You’re doing great, Jim. You’re doing amazing. I don’t tell you this enough, I don’t think, but I’m damn proud to call you my friend. Always have been, and ain’t nothing that could change that. I love seeing you, seeing the little bits you don’t like to show everyone else, feels like an honor. I don’t know where the hell I’d be without you, honestly. Definitely not out here, I never could’ve gone out into the black without you. Still don’t know if I could. No way in hell I’d want to. You’re doing good, Jim, you’re doing great. I’ve had a small handful of these myself, you know. Well, probably not a _small_ handful by most people's definitions of the word. Used to happen every time I got in a shuttle. You always helped me with that, Jim, and I’ll always help you with this, and anything else you need, always. There you go,” Bones finally stopped talking as Jim looked up and opened his eyes, his breathing close to even. Jim had, in truth, not been planning on telling Bones to stop because even in the middle of a panic attack he loved Bones’ voice, and that southern accent that always came out more when he was tired like this, and damn if Bones wasn’t saying the nicest things Jim had ever heard, aside from maybe other things Bones had said at some point.

“You okay?” Bones asked, still holding Jim’s hand firmly in his own. 

“Yeah,” Jim confirmed, still a bit breathless, but mostly better now.

“Okay, kid, let’s get us laid down,” Bones suggested, shifting once again so he was no longer holding Jim’s hand but instead was easing Jim’s shoulders back onto the bed, then sliding himself in as well, manhandling Jim until Jim’s head rested on his chest.

“Sorry,” Jim finally breathed, tapping out a random pattern on Bones’ ribs, just for something to do.

“Try again.”

“...thank you?”

“Better. There’s nothing to be sorry for, Jim. I didn’t know you were still getting those.”

“Not very often.”

“How often is not very often?”

“Maybe once a month or so? I don’t know. It’s getting less as we get further from, ya know…”

“Is it always Kahn?”

“No. This time it was…” Jim couldn’t make himself say Tarsus out loud. He still couldn’t believe he had managed to tell Bones about it at all, one night at the Academy. Granted, there had been a lot of alcohol involved, which tended to loosen his tongue.

“Ah,” Bones nodded in understanding, but said nothing else, knowing Jim would say more if he wanted to. There was really nothing else for Jim to say. He barely remembered anything about the actual nightmare besides the subject anyways. “You seemed to enjoy this earlier,” Bones finally said, running his fingers through Jim’s hair again. “Relax, darlin’. Sleep. I’ve got you.”

The casual use of the pet name that had been a slipup the night before absolutely floored Jim. He was on the verge of sleep, burdened with the exhaustion of a long hike and a panic attack but feeling safe as he could be with his head pillowed on Bones’ chest, and all Jim could do was mumble

“You’ve always got me.”

“Damn straight,” Bones agreed, and Jim couldn’t be sure but he was fairly certain that Bones pressed a kiss to his temple as he drifted off into sleep once more, finally restful.

Bones was still running his fingers through Jim’s hair. No, not still, _again_ . It was definitely again, because when Jim cracked his eyes open, he saw Bones’ face illuminated by the bright sunlight, bathing him in the orangey glow that was just a touch darker than they were used to back on earth. At some point, Jim had slid his head off Bones’ chest, but they were still impossibly close. They were sharing a pillow, even, and were lying nose to nose with their legs tangled together and Bones’ arm perched on Jim’s shoulder as he pulled at his hair. It was all a bit overwhelming, because this was exactly how he had dreaded waking up, complete with his erection that Bones _had_ to be feeling, but it was a good kind of overwhelming because Bones wasn’t shying away from it and was instead leaning into it.

“Mornin’, gorgeous,” Bones greeted him, voice still heavy with sleep, “Hope you slept better.”

“What happened to ‘darlin’?” Jim asked to cover up the fact that he was preening at the attention and affection from the object of his.

Bones’ only answer was to mumble, “You are a damn sight, darlin’.”

Briefly, Jim wondered what had changed. Maybe it was nothing, maybe they had been standing on the precipice of this for months, for _years_ , just walking closer and closer to the edge and this was just Bones taking another step, one that would just be incorporated into how they were and never discussed. But Jim didn’t want that, and he was beginning to think Bones didn’t either, so he held that thought and leaned forward, pressing his lips to his best friend’s. From the way Bones sighed and parted his lips under Jim’s, Jim was not the only one who had been looking forward to this probably inevitable progression. They both had horrible morning breath, Jim was starving and his calves ached from the hike the previous day, and as Bones pulled him in closer he could feel that he wasn’t the only one who woke up hard that morning. It was messy and imperfect and it was more of a when not an if when it came to this becoming quite a bit heavier, but when Bones pulled away slightly to press a kiss to Jim’s jaw and whisper “finally”, Jim allowed himself to focus on the simple little imperfect beautiful moment they were in. Bones was right, as he often was. “Finally,” indeed.


End file.
